Crypto Without Internet: mCoin Launches In Africa
London-based ONEm Communications recently announced the launch of its mCoin program across the African tech ecosystem. Reported to be designed to be a hybrid virtual currency, mCoin is a digital currency whose transfer can be done with text or over the smartphone app.
The African landscape boasts of millions of people who have access to mobile phones. But the reality is that some people in certain part are bedecked by the lack of good internet connection. With this in view, the launching company intends to bring the benefit of cryptocurrency to millions of unbaked Africans through the mCoin program.
The co-founder and CEO of ONEm, Christopher Richardson, on the sidelines of this launch, disclosed that the reception for the mCoin in Africa has been a tremendous outplay. He believes that blockchain can be paired with mobile technology to bring real-time connection to the premises of the unbanked Africans.
According to him, the concept, when combined with informational and community-based services, Africans’ happiness can be leveraged by affording them simple and effective tools that extend their capabilities. He pointed out also that Africa is just the first of their initiative, as the startup has hopes launch in many countries all over the world in order to allow everyone to enjoy cryptocurrency on ordinary mobiles.
The ONEm Wallet is reported to be a digital wallet which affords users the ability to send mCoin to others in the community, by means of using a wallet address in the form of a username. Sources disclose that users can also send the virtual currency from an offline SMS wallet to the digital wallet. It is believed that for the fact that the coin is not connected to the internet, it is safe.
The SMS wallet was developed to mirror a cold storage wallet. This wallet works with a set of shortcodes that provide options to users, including sending mCoin and viewing the wallet address. The startup reports that users can transfer mCoin to another SMS wallet or to a digital ONEm Wallet with the use of shortcodes.
Despite the fact that the funds in the offline SMS wallet are secure, there is still a possible risk of losing the tokens if the registered mobile falls into the wrong hands. But unlike online wallets systems, this SMS-enable type doesn’t have the capability to process a two-factor authentication, acting as an added layer o security for wallets.
As of now, users can earn the token by participating in a pseudo-mining program which rewards users for their activities on the platform with points (mPoints) which are then converted into mCoin. The coin has a growing community of more than 80,000 users and currently operates in seven African countries.
ONEm Communications is a tech startup company that majors in the development of advanced platforms to support an ecosystem of services.
Image Courtesy: Bitcoin Isle
